Cat 194: Nearly Scared to Death

Chapter 194: Nearly Scared to Death

This was Yan Jiyun’s first time eliminating a human at such close range. In his previous instances, he had never confronted it so directly; the fallen clone on the ground still hadn’t closed its eyes.

If Qi Feng hadn’t contacted him in time, he might really have fallen for the game’s scheme. Of course, it was also thanks to finding the walkie-talkie—everything, it seemed, was fated.

There was little time to ponder the terrifying truths hidden behind this instance, as suddenly, a number of people appeared ahead.

It wasn’t a situation of mutual curses, brawling, or hacking at one another. Rather, several people stood at the very center of the car exhibition area—somewhere plainly visible to all.

There were six in total. Among them, one was Chu Mo, whom Yan Jiyun was relatively familiar with; his teammate Wen Ye was also present. Looking over further, he recognized Qi Yunchu and Xu Xian; and seated on the hood of a car was the medium-length-haired man he’d seen in Sin City. Compared with the game’s clone, the real one bore an indefinable air. If he guessed correctly, this was the very culprit who had drawn Qi Feng and the others into the game—Su Qiuming.

Yet, what was odd was that despite all the conflict he’d had with Qi Feng, and the negative opinions swirling about him, Qi Yunchu and the others still seemed willing to be friends with him.

Yan Jiyun didn’t know any of them, nor could he easily explain how he’d appeared in the top-level venue. He gauged the distance and quietly reported his current situation to Qi Feng through the walkie-talkie.

Yan Jiyun said, “Qi Yunchu and a few guild leaders are meeting up ahead—want to come have a look?”

In fact, he wanted to ask if Qi Feng would consider joining them.

Qi Feng replied, “Wait for me, I’ll be right there.”

Before long, under Yan Jiyun’s guidance, the two managed to meet up at Building C.

They hid beneath a cosmetics livestream platform.

Yan Jiyun didn’t see the wounded woman Yin Zi or Brother Yang following; he guessed that, upon seeing Qi Feng, those two were wary and had hidden themselves. The clones had originally planned to kill them, but failed and were caught—one ended up disposed of by Yan Jiyun. The two were lucky enough not to get in further trouble, so naturally kept out of sight.

That group was still conducting their meeting, seemingly discussing how to gather the other surviving players and band together to defeat the clones.

Yet, the problem remained: they couldn’t trust whether the others were genuine or clones.

Qi Yunchu took charge of the small meeting. “Chu Mo and Wen Ye can vouch for each other—I trust they’re on our side. The rest of you—any way to verify yourselves?”

Su Qiuming was silent; after a glance at him, Xu Xian said, “I can vouch for Ming-ge, and he for me.”

Qi Yunchu nodded: “Alright, then only Yu Zhe is left. How do you prove yourself?”

Yu Zhe hadn’t expected suspicion to fall on him—he hadn’t been with the others earlier and had no way to prove himself.

Thus, the six remained at an impasse. As long as even one person went unverified, there could be no further planning on fighting the clones.

Everyone had been apart for a while—indeed, there was no way to verify.

Yan Jiyun held down the two little black cats, not letting them run off.

He and Qi Feng squatted side by side beneath the table, their backs to the colorful wall decorated by the livestream company. He nudged Qi Feng’s shoulder and whispered, “I can verify whether this Qi Yunchu is the real one.”

Despite being in the game for a while, Qi Feng hadn’t come up with a reliable method to distinguish the real ones from the clones. He’d considered various approaches, but every time a new clone appeared, those methods were undermined. The fact that clones could copy their latest memories was fatal; the clones were cheating.

He was genuinely curious how Yan Jiyun was going to tell Qi Yunchu apart.

Qi Feng: “How?”

Yan Jiyun picked up Little Blackie and shoved it into his arms. “Little Blackie’s been held by Qi Yunchu before—it can smell its own scent on him. If it doesn’t avoid Qi Yunchu, then he’s the real one. But for the others, there’s no way to test them.”

Qi Feng nodded: “Alright. For now, let’s not get mixed up with them. Since Chu Mo and Wen Ye are genuine, we’ll contact them privately first.”

Once again, Yan Jiyun’s ideas coincided with Qi Feng’s, and he said cheerfully, “That’s just what I was thinking.”

Qi Feng volunteered, “I’ll go talk to them.”

Yan Jiyun, recalling Su Qiuming and the tangled past between him and Qi Feng, stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “Wait. If you go now, they’ll be suspicious.”

Qi Feng pointed to Little Blackie in his arms. “Didn’t you say it’s had contact with Qi Yunchu? I’ll sound them out through that.”

Yan Jiyun added, “And Chu Mo and Wen Ye know about the cats, too.”

Qi Feng was about to stand but, at these words, immediately crouched back down. “Tell me: how many people has Caramel’s clone rubbed up against?”

Yan Jiyun felt strangely guilty for his clones. “Not many—just Qi Yunchu, Chu Mo, and Wen Ye. They should all recognize each other’s scent. Anyone Little Blackie rubs up against is real.”

After all, each cat had its own territorial instincts. Even as clones, they preferred humans marked with their own scent.

Chu Mo and Wen Ye were always together, so there was little chance of a mix-up. But for Qi Yunchu, Little Blackie’s verification was necessary.

If Little Blackie wouldn’t go near Qi Yunchu, that would say it all.

Qi Feng pressed him again: “Really, no others?”

Yan Jiyun nodded with complete certainty: “No others. Definitely.”

Still, Little Green and Little Yellow were hiding somewhere—he just hoped they were alright.

Black cats could hide anywhere. They had good combat ability, just disliked crowds.

Yan Jiyun now understood how Qi Feng had felt when he couldn’t find him—he used to hide so willfully, it really wasn’t fair to his caretaker. Now he was worried about not being able to find the other black cats.

After confirming they hadn’t overlooked anything, Qi Feng separated from him and handed the sniper rifle to Yan Jiyun, explaining how to choose the best firing position.

Yan Jiyun decided to circle around and take the elevator up—there was no way he could just squat and wait for more clones to fall into his lap. The last time had been pure luck, all thanks to Qi Feng giving him the phone.

He returned the phone to Qi Feng: “We’ll take turns with it.”

Qi Feng wanted to refuse, but ultimately accepted.

In this instance, Yan Jiyun was the only human Qi Feng could fully trust; as for non-humans, there was his Caramel and Caramel’s several clones.

Yet, where was Caramel? Yan Jiyun didn’t seem the least bit worried.

Qi Feng was a little puzzled, but not overly so—his cat could hide anywhere. Yan Jiyun showing worry in front of him would be pointless. Perhaps, by now, both he and Caramel were accustomed to this kind of arrangement in the instance: Caramel being away from people was, paradoxically, the safest.

The two left the livestream platform from different directions; Yan Jiyun, with Little White, crept upstairs, while Qi Feng, cradling Little Blackie, headed toward Qi Yunchu and the others.

His appearance immediately drew everyone’s attention—even Su Qiuming, seated on the hood of a display car, jumped down.

Yan Jiyun glanced down: at that moment, Qi Feng looked like a true boss making his entrance—everyone’s gaze followed him, an impressive display. Yan Jiyun couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride by association.

Qi Feng walked neither quickly nor slowly, each step steady and powerful, intentionally buying Yan Jiyun time to find a suitable spot to set up.

Yan Jiyun continued upstairs. Building C was much taller than D—there were five floors on the other side, but this one had seven. He had plenty of options, yet without a good spot, hiding was just as dangerous.

Unlike ordinary buildings where you could open a window slit and shoot, in a mall you could only depend on the corridor railings for a vantage point.

For an ordinary person, lying on the ground meant being easily spotted and vulnerable to attacks from behind. That was why he and Qi Feng had hidden in the Christmas tree area before—it offered cover and an escape route. Here, it was different; the seventh floor lacked any good hiding places—height alone was no help.

Ultimately, Yan Jiyun chose the sixth floor, where there was a stall selling hats and scarves. He could crouch beneath it, shielded by heaps of scarves and the dust cover draped over the stand—a perfect hiding place.

He hadn’t expected to see a scarf stall on the sixth floor; those usually occupied the lower three.

Regardless, Yan Jiyun wasn’t worried about being ambushed from behind. As long as anyone approached within fifty to a hundred meters, he’d abandon the position—by the time they found him, he’d already be gone. That was the advantage of keen hearing.

By then, Qi Feng was already conversing face-to-face with Qi Yunchu and the others.

He held a black cat in his arms—there was no hiding the fact that he’d brought a cat into the game.

Every pair of eyes focused on the black cat in his embrace. Qi Feng’s appearance did indeed bring hope, though the sight of him cradling a cat surpassed everyone’s expectations. Qi Feng had always been the cold, aloof type—who would have imagined, in such a perilous instance, that he’d have a cat?

Chu Mo, having encountered the cat in the game, was far calmer. Only moments ago, the cat had brushed up against his leg.

Xu Xian was the first to speak—among those present, only he seemed incredulous: “Feng-ge, where’d you get the cat? Did you bring it in your backpack?”

Qi Feng owed them no explanation for the cat’s origin. Standing beside Chu Mo and Wen Ye, he didn’t take another step forward.

His stance said it all: Chu Mo and Wen Ye, he trusted weren’t clones—the other four, he wasn’t so sure.

Qi Yunchu suddenly understood: “So it was a cat in there? No wonder you were dead set against letting anyone from the guild check.”

Chu Mo reached out to pet Little Blackie, feeling it was fate to reunite—he’d met the cat in the championship, and now here again.

Little Blackie picked up the scent of other black cats on Chu Mo—different, but not repulsive.

Qi Feng launched straight into the key point: “One of you six is a clone.”

The six were: Qi Yunchu, Chu Mo, Wen Ye, Xu Xian, Yu Zhe, Su Qiuming.

Among them were four guild leaders. If they all died here, there’d be a major shake-up in the guilds afterwards.

With Chu Mo and Wen Ye confirmed genuine, the remaining four looked at each other warily.

Su Qiuming took the elastic band from his wrist and began to tie up his hair, saying, “Qi Feng, you haven’t even been with us—how do you know that one of us four is a clone?”

Qi Feng replied, “Because I killed your last clone.”

Su Qiuming flashed an OK sign. “Alright, then I’m safe.”

Yu Zhe retorted, “Doesn’t clear you, though. Another batch of clones just appeared—you could still have one yourself.”

Su Qiuming said, “True, but compared to the rest, there were more of your clones left over last time. I only had one; you could have more.”

Qi Feng approached Qi Yunchu, following Yan Jiyun’s tip and letting Little Blackie get close.

A newly produced clone of Qi Yunchu would have Little Blackie’s memories, but an older, uncleared clone wouldn’t know about the cat or have been touched by it.

Qi Yunchu, seeing the black cat approach, took a step back. “What are you doing?”

Qi Feng met his eyes. “Nothing. No need to be nervous.”

A flicker of unease crossed Qi Yunchu’s face. “Then what’s the meaning of this?”

Little Blackie merely stood before him, made no move to rub against him, and soon returned to Qi Feng’s feet, as if wary of strangers.

There was no scientific basis for this method—Qi Feng was relying solely on trust in Yan Jiyun and Little Blackie.

The others had caught on to his meaning.

If Qi Feng approached the real Qi Yunchu, the reaction would not have been like this.

Su Qiuming, standing very close, said, “You put on a good act. Nearly had us fooled—clone.”

The exposed Qi Yunchu wasn’t flustered; he nimbly leapt onto the car roof, spat, “You’ve wrecked things for me, Qi Feng. And you too—your cat. I’ll remember this.”

Clearly about to make his escape, but Qi Feng wasn’t having it—he grabbed the imposter’s shoulder. The fake Qi Yunchu ducked, slipped out of his jacket, and darted to the far side of the vehicle. He was almost free, but a quicker figure blocked his way—Su Qiuming.

It was a life-or-death moment—the fake Qi Yunchu didn’t waste time talking. If he could escape now, he’d have another chance at deceit later. But if caught, it was all over.

Su Qiuming attacked low, while Qi Feng went high.

Pinned between the two, the fake Qi Yunchu had nowhere to run. He lacked combat memories against Qi Feng and Su Qiuming—toppling both in a flash was impossible. And he was out of chances—because now Xu Xian joined in.

As the original Qi Yunchu was chronically ill, so too was the clone—lacking in physical strength. Colliding into Xu Xian, the latter seized the chance and snapped the clone’s neck.

With a sharp crack, the fake Qi Yunchu was dead. No blood, but brutal enough.

They had just witnessed cruelty from their own companions, as well as from NPCs.

Such was the game of “Destiny”—exposing hidden sides of everyone.

After killing one clone himself, Yan Jiyun watched as Xu Xian snapped another’s neck. The visual impact was strong, but internally, he barely felt a ripple.

In this particular instance, even the slightest mercy would mean certain death for players—there was no choice. Aside from that, he noted that Qi Feng and Su Qiuming had worked seamlessly together; clearly, they’d once been an excellent team.

Had he met Qi Feng earlier, perhaps they too might have become such close partners.

With the fake Qi Yunchu gone, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Yet Yan Jiyun kept his rifle trained on another—Yu Zhe, who never had proof he wasn’t a clone.

Yan Jiyun knew him: the guildmaster of Oxygen, with whom Qi Feng had faced off before.

At that moment, Yu Zhe was very close to Qi Feng. Qi Feng and the others had just dealt with the fake Qi Yunchu and were momentarily at ease. In that split second, none noticed Yu Zhe swinging a knife at Qi Feng’s back.

Chu Mo and Wen Ye stood a bit far and had no time to intervene. Just as Yu Zhe raised the blade, about to strike, a bullet pierced his temple with a dull thud. He froze, locked in the act of stabbing.

Qi Feng whirled, slamming the fake Yu Zhe—already felled by the sniper’s shot—onto the ground.

The others scanned their surroundings; it was clearly the work of an ally, but they didn’t know who.

To snipe so accurately at the temple—without the slightest tremor—aside from Qi Feng, no one in this instance was thought capable.

Qi Feng knew the answer. He glanced up, then away, not wanting to reveal his ace in front of others—but couldn’t suppress a faint, satisfied smile. Yan Jiyun was an outstanding teammate—once again, he’d saved Qi Feng’s life.

Having just dispatched a clone so cleanly, Yan Jiyun finally let out a shaky breath and shook his sweaty hands. He was about to die from nerves!